By: Zimmer Tackle & Bait Co. Live Bait & Fishing Tackle-Wholesale ~ P.0. Box 22 ~ Pablo, MT 59855 Phone (406) 675-0068 -- Email: andrew@ronan.net. Note: the information on fishing regulations, weather and water, and the amount and safety of the ice on various bodies of water are from "Andrew the MacMan" and NOT from the Flathead Lakers. It is your responsibility to understand the regulations, and to accertain that the ice or water is safe before venturing onto it.
August 30, 2003Fishermen: The summer of 2003 has been the most outstanding fishing on Flathead Lake that we can recall. The whitefish continue to bite for a longer period and in a greater variety of locations that ever before. The macs, especially on the East side of the lake have ignored the hot summer days and have fed actively. A 50 foot depth continues to be where the magic happens for whitefish. Kastmasters, Rattle D'Zastors, and RattleSnakeys have all been effective jigs. Green reflector tape is a must for the best results. A yellow LMR Special tipped with maggots above these is always a plus. As the perch smolt are thinned and become more predator wary the whitefish have to put more energy into catching their quarry. As a result fishermen to be successful during this later part of the whitefish season must present a more actively fished lure. Quick hook setting jerks with the lure hitting the bottom each time it descends has proven most successful in many areas. The Rollins area, near the river mouth at the North end of the lake, the North point at Woods Bay, the North point of Yellow Bay, and the West side of the narrows are all good bets. Good catches of fillet-sized perch are being taken in Elmo Bay and the weed beds near Payton. These fish will be in a 25 to 40 foot depth and will respond to a variety of baits tipped with night crawlers. Mike Doran, Owner of Lake Mary Ronan Lodge sent us this fishing report:He says, "Jigging for the salmon straight across from LMR Lodge and Resort in the 45 ft water channel at about 32 feet with a Swedish Pimple(Just about any color) a #8 white or Pink glo hook tied 4 inches below, tipped with corn and maggot or corn and crawdad or a white or glo Attracta Fish with the same glo hook setup is working really well. Trolling is really starting to pick up for the rainbows with a wedding ring tipped with corn You'll be trolling in the Christian Camp and Eagles Nest Bays in about 24 to 28 feet of water. Bigger perch are in 28 feet of water out from the dead snag in Eagles Nest Bay and from the State Park to Camp Tuffit at the same depth."
For more information call us at 406-675-0068 or e-mail us at: macman@ronan.net. Good Fishing, The MacMan.
Beginning of August Fishing ContestHello Fisherman, this weekend on the 2nd and 3rd of August, The Mac-Attack will be held. The contest runs from 0600 to 1800 on Saturday, and from 0600 to 1800 on Sunday. The entry fee is twenty dollars. Prizes include a thousand dollar grand prize as well as a raffle at the end of the tournament. One of the raffle prizes is a boat so bring your lucky hat. The festivities also include free beer on Saturday for anyone in the tournament, as well as a fish fry on Sunday. The fish fry is free to all the entrants and five dollars for anyone not fishing in the tournament. - Categories
- 1st- largest laketrout over 36" $1000
- 2nd- five largest laketrout below 28"
- 3rd- three largest whitefish
- 4th- largest squawfish 200$
- 5th- five largest laketrout under 22"
Note: prizes for 2nd, 3rd, and 5th catagories will be determined by a percentage of the entry fee.* Only one fish per category per person, so only the largest fish will count in any of the categories. Any other questions can be answered at Del's Bar (857-3351). Good luck and good fishing.
July 26, 2003Fishermen: The moment that many of us have been waiting for has arrived. Large schools of actively feeding lake whitefish have moved into the Elmo and Big Arm Bay areas. The water just north of the Big Arm State Park boundary has been the most productive. 40 to 55 feet are the depths most often fished, but fish can be found out to 80 feet with an abundance of lake trout being mixed in with the whitefish. Being securely anchored is important to keep a still bait presentation and to help awareness of the light bites typical of whitefish. A variety of yellow and yellow chartreuse-bodied LMR Special flies have been working. Possibilities are: yellow and black with and without hackle or yellow chartreuse and gold with a crystal flash or latex tail and chartreuse hackle. These are fished two above a bottom weight with an up to two foot spread between them. Bait these with maggots and fish them with a variety of jigging actions holding your rod still as often as your are moving it. A drop shot approach where your weight is resting on the bottom so that your line is slightly slack can also be successful. At the peak of the summer whitefish season fish can be found in a 40 to 55 foot depth from Dream Island all the way to the Christian Camp on the North side of Rollins Bay. They are feeding on perch smolt which come from deep water into the weedbeds that are wide spread in the relatively shallow water on the west side of Flathead Lake The river mouth at the North end of the lake the North point of Woods Bay, and the North point of Yellow Bay can also have whitefish concentrations this time of year. Here, a gold and chartruese Jig-A-Biggun or a gold Kastmaster with green reflector tape on one side will be more effective than the flies although to fish a fly above them is always a plus. This is also the time of year to go for small mouth bass in the Flathead River below Kerr Dam to it's confluence with the Clark's Fork River. Look for deep holes with sharp rocky ledges. My favorite bait is a size 1 or 2 yellow Flash-n-Glow baited with a whole night crawler impaled near the breed ring a couple of times leaving a fairly long tail. Tube jigs are also popular or a simple bottom weight with a snelled hook baited with night crawler will suffice. Gene Garrison from Mountain Meadows Lodge and Resort at Lake Mary Ronan reports many anglers who are in the know are consistently bringing in limits of salmon while others aren't doing so well. Jig fishing as opposed to trolling has proven best all summer. An orange attractor either an Attracta-Fish or a Swedish Pimple above a pink glow hook or pink Flash-n-Glo is always a good setup to start with making variation from this as you become acquainted with what the fish's preferences are for that day. The salmon will often be in water depths of 35 to 55 feet and suspended 20 to 30 feet below the surface. My preference for staying in the catch zone is to go to the bottom and then reel up to where I consistently get strikes. At Lake Mary there will generally be crowds over the best holes so that makes locating them easy. Chumming with rolled corn, canned corn or frozen corn can create concentrations of active fish below your boat. Jigging for salmon is a finesse sport and requires focus and timing to be aware of a strike and then to set the hook effectively. For detailed information call us at 406-675-0068 or e-mail us at macman@ronan.net. Have a good week fishing. The MacMan
10 July 2003Fishermen: A window has opened for mac and lake whitefish fishing in the Deadman Point area north of the Big Arm State Park. There are large numbers of fish in depths from 40 to 55 feet with the lake trout being the most aggressive. The whitefish are moving in big schools. You can either anchor and wait for them to pass under you or use an electric or gas-driven motor to stay on top of them. A bottom weight with two yellow chartreuse LMR Specials above it baited with maggots or a single fly with a small white and chartreuse jig below it have been effective combinations. This window opens quickly and lasts until the small perch move into the weed beds the third week in July when the normal summer whitefish fishing kicks in. Both salmon and perch fishing jave been good at Lake Mary Ronan. Jig fishermen have in most cases bested the trollers for the salmon. A silver and red Swedish pimple above a pink glow hook bait with maggot is a winning combination. Trollers are using an LMR Special 3 1/2 to 4 colors back. No trolls (cowbells) are necessary. The perch are in a depth of 23 to 28 feet. Nightcrawlers on a snelled hook are adequate. The fish may be suspended off the bottom. Last season Ray Thieler reported catching more big fish using a perch fly a foot above a bottom weight. He baited it with night crawlers and fished it with the weight on the bottom with his lines lightly slack to take the tension from his line. Call us at 406-675-0068 or e-mail us at: macman@ronan.net for currentinformation. Good fishing, the MacMan.
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